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Scylla
Scylla (Greek: Σκύλλα: Skylla), is a four-eyed, six-headed monster, with three rows of teeth per head, from Greek mythology. She appears in Homer's Odyssey. Myths & Legends The monster lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, thought to be the Strait of Messina, separating mainland Italy from Sicily. Her counterpart is Charybdis, a whirlpool-like sea monster that consumed water and ships alike. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other—so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice versa. The idiom "between Scylla and Charybdis", refers to this situation of choosing between two evils. Her habits are also described slightly differently throughout Greek mythology. In some myths, Scylla will only eat any random six sailors, while other myths say that she will relentlessly attack the ship by quickly devouring the sailors. Appearance Scylla had six ugly heads with three rows of sharp teeth on the end of long, flexible necks which she used to snatch up sailors. Her body was said to have consisted of twelve tentacle-like legs and a cat's tail, with four snapping dog heads encircled her waist. Sometimes Scylla is depicted as a large, angry woman with ravenous dogs instead of legs. Other times, it is described as a creature with many snake-like heads. The Odyssey In Homer's The Odyssey, the Scylla was a vicious sea monster that patrolled one side of the Straits of Messina (sometimes known as the Roving Rocks) and attempted to eat sailors on ships who pass through. Ships passing through the Straight of Messina/Roving Rocks between Sicily and Italy had a choice; sail closer to Scylla, or closer to her partner, Charybdis. If they chose Scylla, then she would snatch up six sailors, one for each head, from the deck of the ship. (Any attempt to cheat her would result in her picking up the whole ship and bringing it to her lair.) Charybdis, the whirlpool, would swallow thousands of gallons of seawater at random times and then belch the water back out an unspecified time later. If a ship was caught here at the wrong time, it would be swallowed whole. Circe advised Odysseus to sail closer to Scylla. He did so and lost six men, but was able to continue his journey home. Family Originally a nymph, some place her as a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto while others name Triton and Lamia as her parents. According to Hyginus she was beloved of the god Glaucus, who was himself desired by the sorceress Circe. Transformation Scylla had once been a beautiful sea nymph, and different stories tell of her transformation. In some stories, she boasted her beauty and compared it to the Gods. In another tale Circe tricked her lover into poisoning her out of jealousy. She poisoned her rival's bath waters, but she herself was turned into a ravenous monster instead. In other tales, she was pursued by Poseidon, whose wife Amphitrite transformed her. 300px-Castello_scilla.jpg|The Rock of Scilla, Calabria 780px-Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_Scylla_et_Glaucus.jpg|In front of Glaucus, Scylla begins to transform Scylla_attacks_Odysseus's_boat.jpg|Scylla attacks Odysseus' ship Modern Depictions Films & Animations Scylla 2010.jpg 0DA80D0E-8413-454F-86FF-83EBC4F5CA37.png scylla__profile__by_darthraptor97_ddek1ca.jpg Scylla.jpg Video Games screen-1.jpg 496full-the-odyssey----------------------------------(1997---)-screenshot.jpg Other Art Titanus scylla by pyrus leonidas-dd998av.png Scylla-7798cafa-760f-4db5-870d-8733a7c177f-resize-750.jpeg f48283744c4bd5413890ed5096375b91.jpg D39FE057-C4E1-4BB9-A13A-FED2551A5793.jpeg kas_scylla_by_akitymh_d2zhja2.jpg BA2534B1-C40C-4A38-82BE-F829D3D35D59.jpeg D0EC8DF9-69EB-43ED-A90D-69F101CDFD2B.jpeg Category:Greek mythology Category:Monsters in Greek mythology Category:Water spirits Category:Pagan and Wiccan mythology Category:Sea monsters